399. Thursday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
Psalm 25, 1-11. A Psalm of David. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed; let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
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“Gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him. Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall. Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail. Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy. Look at the generations of old, and see; did any ever trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him? For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction.” (Ecclesiasticus 2, 5-11). You, dear friend, who call upon the name of the Lord may feel sure that he shall lead your cause to a glorious issue. This you may expect with as much confidence as though you already saw it. He who has loved you from eternity, and has given you his only begotten Son; he who is love and mercy and truth without end; could he be the God of your perdition, calamity, and ruin? Impossible! He must, then, be the God of your salvation, as David here calls him. Wait for his salvation in all manner of need; whether it be of the soul, fear and sorrow by reason of sin; or it be of the body, poverty, sickness, and danger; — wait upon him, and hope in him; he is as willing as he is mighty to help you. If the end be not that which you had hoped for, it is because the Lord makes it much more glorious; and if he do not come when it seems to you that he should, he comes at the proper time; for he is much wiser than you, even as he loves you better than you love yourself. He places you in the fiery crucible, in order that he may give you more resplendent glory. It is an unalterable law that “none that wait on the Lord shall be ashamed.’’ “But,” say you; “how about my sins?” You must confess them, and pray him to forgive them. David is not speaking of angels. He says: “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.” “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.” “According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord!” “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he will teach sinners in the way.” Take your soul to him out of your sins, and believe his forgiveness; then you are in his covenant; and, as he lives, all his paths are mercy and truth unto you! — Lord, keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Amen.*
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left thee;
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
I need thy presence every passing hour;
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me!
[TLH 552, LSB 878, ELH 561; listen here]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.